Rating: * * *
Pages: 248
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Special agent Zach is sent to investigate his former flame Julie, who is suspected of selling government secrets. He plans to use their shared sorrow--she lost her husband and he lost his wife and child--to get close to her. He doesn't count on her having a daughter, Emmie, who is the same age his daughter would have been had she lived, and he doesn't count on falling in love with Julie all over again. One warning... This book ended on a bit of a downer. There were hints of several other romances, including one between a feisty FBI agent and Zach's brother. I was looking forward to another book as good as this one, only to encounter an editor's note on the last page that the author died of cancer. This was her first novel, too. At least she managed to fulfill her dream!
12/31/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Pages: 249
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Vandals have been attacking Trudy Lynn's campground. When Cody, her best friend's brother, comes to town to recuperate from a white water rafting accident, she asks him to stay in a guesthouse at the campground to help her catch the vandals. There are a few amusing moments involving Trudy Lynn's tiny but feisty terrier and Cody's massive but timid Newfoundland, but, otherwise, it wasn't that exciting.
12/30/06

Rating: * * *
Pages: 248
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Bethany's 60-year-old aunt Erika gets engaged, and asks Bethany to be her wedding planner. Bethany heads out to Arizona to the family ranch, and fiancé Ian's son Cody is assigned to escort her around. When Bethany shows up in her 4-inch heels, he doesn't has no clue what he's in for! A nice dose of humor.
12/30/06

Rating: * * *
Pages: 247
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Years ago, Dinah witnessed the murder of her beloved cousin Annabel, but she remembers nothing of that night. Now Marc, Annabel's husband, has returned with their son Court, now a teenager, because Court wants to spend one Christmas in Charleston before Marc sells the house. As Court gleefully throws himself into the festivities, Marc is determined to clear suspicion of himself and find out who killed his wife. Meanwhile, Dinah still just wants to forget, but things change as she does her job as a police sketch artist, working with a particular troubled teenage girl who also swears she didn't see the person who murdered her friend in an alley. This actually has quite a bit of depth for a slim little category romance.
12/23/06

Rating: * *
Pages: 247
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Linc was the serviceman who escorted Maddie's father's body home when he was killed when she was ten years old. Now she is in college, and, as a belated graduation present, Linc invites Maddie to spend Christmas with him in Hawaii. Only her father's death isn't an accident, and the cult that killed her father is after her. Not a whole lot of story, but some interesting lore about Hawaii.
12/19/06

Rating: * * *
Pages: 298
Genre: Regency Romance
Three laugh-out-loud novellas...
A Soldier's Tale (Elizabeth Rolls) * * *
Dominic returns from war to the manor he has inherited. He has neglected to tell his family just how badly he was scarred, and they are all horrified. The only person who can see him as still himself is his "poor relation" second cousin Pippa. Among the merriment of Christmas and matchmaking, they fall in love.
A Winter Night's Tale (Deborah Hale) * * *
Christabel is a single mother to young Nicholas after losing her husband in the war. They are destitute and she is dangerously ill when they are discovered by Jonathan, the suitor she rejected ten years ago. He drags them to his manor and convinces them to spend Christmas with him and his elderly aunt.
A Twelfth Night Tale (Diane Gaston) * * *
Elizabeth is a former governess traveling with her pregnant but unmarried pupil Anna. They are caught in a storm and take shelter at a manor she knows, only she doesn't realize that her former love Zach is now the Earl. A touching story of love and unwavering faith.
All three are funny but touching fluff... Well worth reading.
12/16/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Pages: 250
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Ad executive Christine comes to Mackinac Island to care for her grandmother. She meets Will, her grandmother's boarder, and envies his happy attitude and his contentment with the life he's chosen. She becomes more and more disenchanted with her old life as complications arise due to her extended stay. I would have preferred a better resolution, and I did not care for Will's ultimatum that it is her work or him when she is called back to deal with a crisis.
12/15/06

Rating: * * *
Pages: 250
Genre: Inspirational Romance
The Brothers' Bond #1. Mia Carano is a dedicated social worker. Collin Grace is a police officer who spent his childhood in foster care. He has little love for social workers, and only cares for finding his two missing brothers and caring for injured animals. But when Mia decides that Collin would be the perfect mentor for Mitch, a troubled teenager under her care, he doesn't stand a chance. This is a feel-good story of love and second chances.
12/10/06

Rating: * * *
Pages: 250
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Finders, Inc. #3. Secrets in Callie's past have broken up her marriage to Max. But when she enlists his help in finding a person, her past comes back to haunt her and they are forced to face and deal with her secrets. Very fast-paced read.
12/2/06

Rating: * * *
Pages: 297
Genre: Nonfiction
This is a combination memoir/writing advice book. While I am not a King fan, I was very much interested in how he became a writer. His writing advice is blunt and no-nonsense. Should be required reading for a beginning writer.
12/1/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
Finders, Inc. #2. Fast-paced story, but almost too fast and hard to follow. Samantha is chasing a statue all over Peru. When she gets in trouble, she is forced to call on her boss, Daniel, to assist her. They take a couples cruise in search of the statue, but somebody is out to get Samantha. This is a good story. The only problem is, the format is too short to tell the "dense" story, so I was left floundering as parts were skimmed over and not fully explained. Still, it was worth reading.
11/25/06

Rating: * * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
This one lives up to Aiken's promise, mixing and sometimes combining hysterical situations with edge-of-your-seat tension. FBI agent Dan Maddox is assigned to protect Carlie Papparelli after she turned state's evidence against her family. Dan is a by-the-book type of guy, and Carlie is an independent-minded free spirit. Together they flee across the country, landing in one nail biting or hilarious (or both) situation after another. This could have been a four star read, except the author insisted on tacking on the ubiquitous annoying happily after wedding scene at the end, which adds absolutely nothing to the story. She should have ended it with some sort of unorthodox marriage proposal that would have fit the tone of the rest of the story. Still... It's a great read!
11/18/06

Rating: * * * * 1/2
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 460
The Mage Wars #1. Classic Mercedes Lackey. The evil mage Ma'ar is advancing, and combining to stop him are Urtho, the Mage of Silence; Amberdrake, a "Healer of mind, body and spirit"; his best friend Skandranon, a conceited but extremely clever gryphon; Zhaneel, a "misborn" gryphon (or is she?); Winterhart, a division leader whose cold demeanor hides a secret past; and an assorted bunch of companions. Together they must save their people, as Ma'ar drives them further back into their lands. This tells the origins of the Mage Storms and magical beings such as gryphons. Highly recommended.
10/28/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Teen thriller
Pages: 265
Apparently a sequel to The Bar Code Tattoo, but it stands alone. This is teen near-future science fiction, about a world where everything is run by  bar code tattooed on each person when they turn 17. A small resistance group refuses to be tattooed, because they realize there is more to the bar code than simple identification. While Kayla is on the run, she encounters several mysterious girls who look exactly like her, which leads her to much deeper secrets than anyone suspects. Fast, enjoyable read.
10/21/06

Rating: * * * 1/2
Genre: Suspense
Pages: 395
I am not a vampire buff, but I still loved this book. Psychologist Jessica Fraser counsels troubled teens. Professor Bryan McAllister lectures on the history of cults. Neither one of them is what they seem, and when a vampire cult begins to prey on young people, they must join forces to take down the Master, the ancient vampire who has come back...in search of Jessica. Highly recommended.
10/21/06

Rating: * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 241
Davis Landing #4. Tim Hamilton has taken over Hamilton Media after his brother Jeremy took off to track down his biological grandparents. Dawn Leroux is his efficient executive secretary. He accidentally runs into her car, and ends up taking her on her rounds to deliver meals on wheels, and they get to see a different side of each other. There really is no romance or conflict. After Dawn sees Tim interacting with one of her meals on wheels customers, she decides she is smitten. Then he invites her to go golfing on a Sunday morning and she is sure he doesn't care about her beliefs because he doesn't remember she goes to church on Sunday, and that is the entire conflict. Oh, and when her best friend is named Gabi Valencia and extensively peppers her speech with Spanish terms, is it really necessary to repeatedly refer to her as the beautiful Latina? I'd expect better from an experienced writer like Hansen.
10/14/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 328
I finished this book at 4 a.m. because I couldn't put it down. I had to keep turning pages, watching things unfold. But, when I finished it, my overall impression was, "Huh?" Susie Salmon dies in the beginning and we watch with her as her family and friends deal with her murder and try to track down the murderer. Interesting enough, but not worth losing a night's sleep over.
10/8/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Suspense
Pages: 424
Toni and her friends lease a rundown castle in Scotland, fix it up, and start putting on dramatized "living history" tours featuring a mythical laird of the castle, Bruce MacNiall. Then one day in rides the ancestor of the very real Laird Bruce MacNaill, who owns the castle and has no idea what's been going on. Toni begins to see the ghost of the original laird, who is trying to tell her something. Meanwhile, somebody has been murdering prostitutes in the cities and dumping the bodies in the forest near the castle. And Toni is led to a body, but it is not one of the missing girls... And they are trying to figure out who ripped them off and "leased" them the castle. A page turner.
10/7/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
One thing Aiken still needs to learn... When you can create naturally hysterically funny characters, all you need to do is turn them loose and let them be themselves. Forcing them to sound cute and do cutesy things is overkill. Oh, and... A three-year-old who wants "awfuls" for breakfast = cute. A five-year-old who wants "awfuls" is either unrealistic, or a candidate for speech therapy. And "cutesy" kids are one of my pet peeves. The story is lacking, mostly because you don't have enough background information to really care about the characters. FBI Agent David Latham sees Lauren DiStefano and her nephew Mark almost run down, and comes to her rescue and becomes involved in figuring out what the mob wants with her. The ending is particularly stupid, and makes absolutely no sense. Now, the characters... If Aiken had stayed out of their way, they would have stolen the show, especially David's Grandma Dottie and her purple Hummer and crime-busting Lady Look Lovely makeup party friends. Aiken has such a great humorous series going with her "mob" stories, and she apparently doesn't know how to take full advantage of it. But this story was worth reading just to meet Grandma Dottie. I hope she shows up in the final book in this series!
9/30/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 252
Davis Landing #3. Oldest daughter Amy Hamilton runs the family magazine, Nashville Living. She ends up hiring a new writer who happens to be her old flame. Bryan is now a single father, and Amy is (of course) charmed by his son Dylan and vice versa. Bryan is afraid that to love again would be disrespectful to Darlene, his deceased wife. Amy is still not sure she's the marrying kind, period.
9/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
Marielle spends all her spare time volunteering at a youth center. (You never find out what she does for work, other than it's "just an office job." That does not make for a well-rounded character.) When she pulls over to answer a phone call from one of the teens she works with (you also never find out why that particular girl calls her all the time), Russ somehow falls out of a third story window and lands on the roof of her car. Russ is a workaholic forced by his boss to take a long leave of absence to volunteer at the youth center while he recovers from his injuries. He wants nothing to do with the life he escaped from. Marielle wants nothing to do with a workaholic. But the biggest complication is trying to figure out how Russ fell out the window and who keeps breaking into the center to mess with the computers his office donated. This is not the caliber of work one would expect from an experienced writer. I really couldn't work up much sympathy for any of the characters.
6/23/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Nonfiction Inspirational
Pages: 345
Yet another "Chicken Soup" book, this one with a caregiver theme, obviously. Lots of stuff to make you think.
9/16/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 252
After the great-aunt who raised her passes away, Corrie Grant goes on a search to learn about her birth father. He was the son and heir of Baxter Manning, patriarch of the Mannings of Savannah. Baxter Manning invites her to visit to learn about the family, very likely to stir up trouble, which her visit does. It seems nobody believes she is who she claims, and, once they accept that she is, indeed, Baxter Manning's granddaughter and legal heir, they are all sure she is after "their" money. Her only ally is Lucas Santee, Baxter's right-hand man, and even he has his doubts. And somebody wants her gone so badly they want her dead.
9/06

Rating: * * * 1/2
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 576
A duology reprinted in one volume.
Child of the Grove * * *
There is one remaining wizard, Kraydak, and he is determined to conquer the world. The elder races combine to create one last wizard, destined to save mankind. Crystal is born of the Princess Tayer and the elders. Crown Prince Mikhail marries Tayer and raises Crystal as his own until she is ten, when the centaurs come to complete her training. When she is sixteen, she is sent home to face Kraydak, and she has the dual challenges of being a wizard and crown princess. Kraydak, meanwhile, is thrilled to finally have a worthy (but not too challenging) opponent. He delights in playing games with her. Only, he doesn't realize, Crystal isn't playing!
The Last Wizard * * *
When the elders created one last wizard, they didn't think beyond the defeat of Kraydak. What is a wizard to do when she no longer has a purpose in life? Crystal teams up with the adventurer brothers, Raulin and Jago, after she saves Jago's life by giving him some of her life force, in search of a wizard's tower that is reported to have great treasure. Assisted by the dwarf Doan and the giant Sokoji, accompanied by Lord Death, who has become Crystal's close friend, Crystal tries to figure out who she is and what she should do next as they travel together.
An extra half-point because the total is better than each story.
9/06

Rating: * * * 1/2
Genre: Insprational Romance
Pages: 247
Finders, Inc. #1. Who would have thought a little category romance would be a page-turner??? Shelby Kinkaid and her husband Grant had Finders, Inc., a business that finds things or people. Ten months ago, Grant was killed in a mysterious fire at the office warehouse. Now their daughter Aimee has been kidnapped, and it's up to Shelby and Finders, Inc. to find her... Except that the most likely suspects--the only possible suspects--are the very best Finders, Inc. operatives and her next-door neighbor and close friend Tim Austen, who has his own secrets and scars. Usually these pieces of fluff are pretty easy to figure out, but I honestly had no clue who did it till it was revealed in the story. Highly recommended.
8/26/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 247
Davis Landing #2. Felicity is a new reporter for The Davis Landing Dispatch, run by Hamilton Media. She has been getting threatening notes, and when they escalate, Chris, the only Hamilton not working for the family business, a police officer, is hired by his brother to be her bodyguard. They spend time trying to figure out who she's ticked off, while she tries to do her job with her boss, Tim Hamilton, cutting back her assignments and Chris shadowing her all the time. Half a star for the humor and the discussions on faith.
8/18/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 513
This is an omnibus reprint of two of Tanya Huff's older novels. She is one of my favorite writers, but, overall, I was very disappointed in these.
Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light * *
This is urban fantasy. An Adept of Darkness has broken into the modern world. "Mentally-challenged" Rebecca, bard-in-training (street musician) Roland, social worker Daru, and Adept of the Light Evan have to band together to send the Darkness back where it belongs. For some reason, the story just didn't work for me. I really couldn't bring myself to care for any of the characters.
The Fire's Stone * * * 1/2
This is high fantasy, and what brings the overall rating up to three stars. Aaron is a clan heir who flees his home after his father has his beloved killed in front of him and becomes a "too-skilled" thief who only wants to die. Darvish, third son of Ischia's king, is a drunkard. Chandra, a powerful wizard, is betrothed against her will to Darvish. Aaron is betrayed and caught by Darvish's people. Darvish rescues him from his torturers, and his father the king gives him life or death power over him. Chandra runs away from home to find Darvish and convince him not to marry her. Meanwhile, Ischia is betrayed and the magic stone that keeps the volcano from destroying the country is stolen. Darvish, Aaron, and Chandra are sent on a mission to recover it. During their adventures, they grow up, and grow together. This time Huff does her usual excellent job of characterization. It's really a coming of age story in a fantasy setting, as the trio matures together through the idealism of young adulthood towards understanding more about how the adult world works and what it means to be an adult and have to make the hard decisions.
8/20/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
Lindy is the voice of a character on a hit animated series. Unfortunately, no men seem to be able to see past Maggy Hoot to the real person. Kyle seems the most likely prospect--they've actually gotten to date five! Then there's the show's creator, eccentric Nigel, and, finally, Leo, the network "suit" who decides whether the series is to live or die. Told with an appealing quiet humor.
8/6/06

Rating: * * * 1/2
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 338
This is another anthology of stories set in the world of Valdemar, written by all the best writers. There aren't any specific stories that stand out, but all are worth reading.
8/5/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 248
Dani is a social worker who lives with her father and three brothers and works for a sadistic boss. When James comes to town, she is sure she has finally found a real "man," and not just another "guy." When James turns out to be "Jiggs," a buddy of her brothers, and moves next door, she discovers that a "guy" isn't always a bad thing.
7/30/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
After her photographer fiancé Michael is killed overseas, Caroline returns home. David, Michael's brother, has left his high-powered job to work with Uplink, an organization that provides internships for at-risk youth. When he discovers Jared, a talented photojournalist student, and sets up an internship with Caroline, they end up spending time together and falling in love. But Jared's old gang doesn't want to let him go and starts causing trouble at the newspaper.
7/29/06

Rating: * *
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 451
Somewhere in the middle of the Midnight Louie cat mystery series. I was curious because this was one of my favorite fantasy authors, but this is an ongoing series. Too much was carried from previous books, and left to be continued, so it was very unsatisfying. In this one, Midnight Louie's person Temple Barr goes undercover as a teen beauty queen contestant to protect a cop's daughter.
7/23/06

Rating: * * * *
Genre: Inspirational Suspense
Pages: 378
Dee Henderson is in a class by herself. This is not like the amusing O'Malley series. This book has the gritty realism of a police procedural novel but with a Christian viewpoint, more like her "Uncommon Heroes" series. It is about three police officers and three sisters. When a woman witnesses a massacre in a jewelry store, Police Chief Luke Granger learns that she is Amy Griffen, and she has been on the run for years after witnessing a mob hit that killed her fiancé and taking all the incriminating books he had kept for a bigtime mobster. She's been able to stay in that town for three years, but now she will have to run again, because as soon as she testifies in this murder, they will find her. She gives him 48 hours, and then vanishes. Three more years pass, without a trace of her. Luke's most trustworthy officers are Conner and Marsh. Three years later, a very wealthy man dies and unexpectly leaves a huge chunk of his estate to his two illegitimate daughters, whom nobody knew existed except for his nephew Daniel. Marsh is seriously dating the younger daughter, Tracey, and at the time they are off on a skiing vacation, so Luke sends Connor to establish protection for the older sister, Marie. While he is there, Connor sees a photo of three sisters, and realizes that their older sister is the presumed-dead Amy. They realize she is bound to resurface to keep an eye on her sisters, and the younger sisters' wealth and sudden publicity makes them an attractive substitute target. Luke and his former girlfriend Caroline work on making a safe way for Amy to return and for the sisters to reunite. Marsh is dealing with regrets that he didn't get around to proposing to Tracey before this all happened, because if he proposes now, people will always say he married her for her wealth. And Connor and Marie are becoming more than good friends. Then somebody starts brutally murdering people connected to the sisters... It's an involved read, with multiple viewpoints, not a book I could zip through, but one I had to savor, but it was worth every minute. I highly recommend this book.
7/22/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 247
This book is hysterical because it's so "over the top." Maryanne is a librarian who volunteers at the nursing home where her father lives, setting up library privileges for the residents. J.Z. Prophet is a fed with a vendetta. When he discovers she has sent a bunch of e-mails ordering someone to "terminate" a resident who has then turned up dead, he is sure she is involved in this mob deal where they were killing off wealthy residents who had left their money to a nursing home, and he is determined to shadow her until he can prove it. At first, Maryanne is freaked out, then she is annoyed, and, finally, she just thinks it's funny. Meanwhile, she has become friends with the widow of a real mobster and the mob actually does become involved...
7/15/06

Rating: * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 247
This is obviously part of a series begun a long time ago, and it makes too many references to previous adventures that actually sound more interesting than this story! Shona is chief assistant to her state senator father. She comes home one day to find him murdered, and she becomes the chief suspect, because people had overheard them arguing earlier. It seemed a rather lame premise to me. Only her somewhat-estranged sister Karah Lee, who was apparently the star of a much more interesting adventure earlier, and her estranged husband, Geoff, believe she is innocent. For the limited space the author has in this series, she wastes too much time on minor characters from one or more previous books and fails to develop the story enough to generate interest.
7/14/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 248
"Davis Landing" #1. Heather Hamilton is a "plain Jane" till her family's magazine's lifestyles section is doing a makeover feature and their subject bails, forcing Heather to step in. The newly-beautiful Heather is noticed by photographer Ethan, who supports her throughout a crisis within her family. He thinks he's not good enough for a Hamilton; she thinks he will uproot and move again. This is an ongoing series, so there are a lot of loose ends yet.
7/8/06

Rating: * * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
Image consultant Isobel Buckley is hired to make over Dustin Fairfax, as a requirement for him receiving his inheritance. However, it's Isobel who gains a new insight into the things that really matter. That's over-simplifying. Dustin is a slightly larger-than-life secret philantropist but a very charming character. Cute book.
7/5/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 241
Sarah's husband and Trent's wife died during an apparent lovers' tryst. A year later, Sarah cannot still believe that her huband would do such a thing, so she returns to the Georgia island of St. James in search of answers. Trent, on the other hand, knows his wife has been unfaithful, but is bent on protecting his young daughter Melissa. He pretty much owns the island and has the power to cover things up, but when things start happening to Sarah, they team up to figure out what really happened. Well written, with realistic and clever plants.
6/27/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 248
This is the final book in the "Faith at the Crossroads" miniseries. It gets three stars only for a fascinating villain who is always one step ahead of them. Otherwise...eh. In this story, police officer and hostage negotiator Becca and Quinn Montgomery, owner of Montgomery Construction, meet when one of Quinn's employees threatens to commit suicide. Suddenly, she is inviting him to her house to discuss remodeling her kitchen, and she is in the attic and falls through the roof and he has to come to her rescue, which left me wondering if I had missed a chapter somewhere. Baltasar Escalante is determined to take down the Vance and Montgomery families, and continues to taunt Quinn, and Becca as well, when he notices she is spending a lot of time in Quinn's company. It's obvious that the climax is going to be when he tries something at a big wedding. On the plus side, Becca is allowed to do her job, and not have Quinn doing the heroic rescues even though she is the police officer and he is a "civilian." On the minus side, after six books of trying to figure out who Baltasar Escalante is, it is finally revealed in a little bit of exposition, almost like an afterthought. There should have been some build-up to do it justice, some drama at the revelation, instead of "Oh, by the way, he turned out to be so-and-so." This could have been a great book, but it was very poorly written. It's obvious that Ms. Daley goet it published only on her reputation as having written a dozen previous Love Inspired novels. She should stick with the straight romance line, though. She does not appear to have a knack for writing suspense.
6/26/06

Rating: * * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 245
This book explores the down side of small-town life, where everybody has known you since babyhood, and think they know you better than you know yourself, and youthful indiscretions can haunt you for the rest of your life because people have long memories. Lea Webster divorced her husband, cop Foley Blue, after his mostly verbal and emotional abuse culminated in her falling down the stairs and losing their child and causing her to become unable to have children. Now she is trying to adopt as a single mother and he is stalking her, determined to win her back. The problem? He's the town's favorite son. In fact, Lea's uncle, the police chief, looks on him as a son. Foley is very charismatic, and very skilled at hiding his alcoholism. Her entire family and the whole town are sure she must have done something to chase him off. After all...! And they recount all her teenage escapades. And, after all that, he still wants her back, such a good man! Meanwhile, Foley is being all cute, asking her to marry him every morning when he comes into her restaurant, and the town is cheering him on. He finds out about the adoption application--her aunt tells him; after all, he's Lea's "husband" and has a right to know--and leaves a teddy bear in the crib in her house and tells her social worker that he wants his name on the adoption application. When she changes the locks, the hardware store owner gives him a set of keys, too. I was chewing my fingernails with frustration for her! Her only supporter is an elderly lady who lives across the street. When Sophie goes on an extended vacation, her nephew Zach MacKenzie comes to stay in her house and care for her livestock. They meet when she is fleeing Foley and forgets that Sophie is gone and goes to her house. Zach is fresh out of prison and on parole, a recovering alcoholic who killed a man in a drunk driving accident. Zach is determined to stay clean and sober and go by the book and rebuild his life. The problems... Lea, understandably, doesn't trust an alcoholic, recovering or not. And Foley, who is becoming more and more dangerous, sees him as a threat and is in a position to make all kinds of trouble for him if he tries to help Lea. And who will the police force believe--their beloved coworker, or a convicted felon? The mental and physical conflicts keep you turning pages. I highly recommend you track down this book.
6/18/06

Rating: * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 247
Gwen leaves her job teaching fifth grade to take a job at a ski resort, even though she can't ski and is afraid of heights. Mitch, the brother to her friend Caroline, is starting up a new ski resort. Gwen is originally hired as a cook, but his granny decides she is going to do the cooking, so the only job left for Gwen is to run a coffee shop on top of a ski slope. Meanwhile, somebody is trying to sabotage Mitch's resort, and Gwen looks guilty. It had the makings to be a good story, but... A sequel to A Match Made in Bliss, this was a disappointment. The first book's humor arose from the situation and characters. The author could have done the same with this book, with an intriguing cast of characters including a heroine with slightly outrageous style and her pet lizard, Guacamole, and outspoken Granny. Instead, I suppose since it was written for a line designed to be humorous, the book is written in a painfully affected "amusing" style. The entire story is told in the present tense, which is distracting to begin with. And there is so much mental fluff about how cute Gwen finds Mitch. After the sixth time she has a "mental quip" about how he can do something-or-other to/for her anytime, I was like, "OK, I get it!!! She finds the guy attractive. Duh. I really don't need to be hit over the head to get the point." Show, don't tell! Especially, don't tell over and over and over again. Skip this one.
6/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 248
Shy, bumbling schoolteacher Cassie Manning has cared for her invalid father for years. Now he is dead and she has turned 40 and joined New Beginnings, a support group for "older" singles. She meets mysterious Peter Scott, and they become friends, but he keeps vanishing for days on end. Peter is a mulitmillionaire real estate baron who is trying to get reaquainted with his brother Eric, his only surviving relative. I dunno, I just didn't feel the romance in this one. It almost all takes place around New Beginnings meetings, except when he drags her around house hunting when she isn't sure he can afford a place and when (after she learns who he is) she jaunts off to Europe with him (and a chaperone, of course). It's just not believable. At one point, he is wondering if he should propose again, since she didn't seem to take him seriously the first time, and I'm thinking, "He proposed? Where??? I don't remember reading that!" So, obviously, the book isn't exactly an attention-grabber. Too bad... It had a lot of potential.
6/6/06

Rating: * * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
I hadn't planned to buy this book, but it kept sticking in my mind, so I finally picked it up, and it was worth it. Leah's husband ran off with their six-week-old son after her wealthy parents refused to give him money. For eight years, she has been searching for her son, and finally finds a clue that leads her to the small town of Rosewood, Texas... Eight years ago, Matt Whitaker's young half-brother brought him his son to care for, telling a story of how his wife ran off and abandoned him. Shortly afterwards, he was killed, and Matt has raised his nephew as a single father all these years. Now Danny's mother is back in town, telling a very different story from what his brother told. Leah is determined to get to know her son and to get him back. The story deals with a fascinating conflict. Leah is Danny's mother, and has every right to him, yet he has been loved and cared for and raised by the only father he's ever known, but who has no legal right to him. Both love Danny and want to do what's best for him. Of course, being a romance, the "happily ever after" ending is obvious, but the story in between tackles a very tough issue, something you don't find often in "fluff" romance. Compelling reading.
6/3/06

Rating: * * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 250
Samantha is a professional organizer. Jared hires her to organize his sister, Molly. However, Molly is more interested in matchmaking Samantha and Jared than in getting her own life organized. Add Zelda, a Sphinx (hairless cat) who looks like Yoda with a rhinestone collar and who (like all cats) knows she's beautiful; Imelda, a Labradoodle with painted toenails and a shoe fetish; Ben, an absent-minded genius who does magic as a hobby; and free-spirited creative Wendy  to the mix, and you do not want to read this book in a location where you would be embarrassed to laugh out loud! If you like humorous chick lit with an inspirational slant, try this Love Inspired line.
5/31/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 248
"The Texas Gatekeepers" #3. (I missed #1, and I wish I hadn't. #2 is Sounds of Silence, which I read last year.) I've been waiting for the flamboyant Benny's story, and I wasn't disappointed. Bernadette Malone works in an orphanage on the Mexican border. She is taking a leave of absence to work in Mexico as a missionary. Owen Carmichael is a border patrol agent who is flying in supplies for Mission Aviation Fellowship. (A realistic touch--I have cousins who work with MAF.) Several of Bernadette's friends from her past life are brutally murdered, and now a hitman is gunning for her, as her past comes back to haunt her. Owen happens to be in the right place at the right time, and is drafted into rescuing her. At least, attempting to help rescue her. Benny Malone is every bit as capable of taking care of herself as one would expect. As a bonus, there are some great humorous scenes rising from the characters' personality and situations. Definitely worth reading!
5/22/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 243
"Faith at the Crossroads" #5. Brash investigative reporter Colleen Montgomery sets out to discover the story behind Lidia Vance's mysterious nephew Alessandro Donato. I dunno... I was looking forward to this one, but too many things about it bugged me. For one thing, the biggest thing about Allesandro that was hinted at in at least one previous book was too well hidden and unrealistic. For another, Colleen is unrealistically determined to get the story, no matter what. It is in character for her, but it doesn't make her a sympathetic character. And she give information to the wrong people too easily--a transparent plot device. You have to read the entire series for it all to make sense, but this one was a disappointment.
5/20/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 252
"Faith at the Crossroads" #4. Julianna Red Feather and her dog Angel are search and rescue volunteers. Kenneth Vance is an Air Force captain home on medical leave. Together they investigate the escalating vandalism at Quinn Montgomery's construction company.
5/18/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 251
The next chapter in "Faith at the Crossroads," where an unknown enemy is out to destroy the Vance and Montgomery families of Colorado Springs. Lucia Vance is a firefighter, very much against her brothers' wishes. For some unknown reason, her chief has it in for her. When the new wing of Vance Memorial Hospital is damaged by arson, wildfire expert Rafe happens to be in the right place to rescue her. But then she is under investigation yet again for disobeying orders...
5/ /06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 251
Piper is a busy music professor wrapped up in her own life till she witnesses an attempted kidnapping and then realizes that she was the intended target. An assortment of overbearing big brothers and her childhood friend Cade swoop in to keep her safe. I was disappointed, because in the beginning she is portrayed as such a capable woman, yet throughout the story she meekly allows the men in her life to care for her. And there are too many subplots and red herrings that just fizzle out. The pages would have been better spent fleshing out Piper and Cade and their backgrounds.
5/10/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational
Pages: 360
Rose, a home health nurse and paramedic, witnesses the horrific murder of her client and her client's son, which reminds her of her own father's and sister's death, for which she has felt responsible all these years. And now someone is trying to kill her as well. For her protection, the police want it to get out that she is dead, so she goes to stay on the Amish farm of her paraplegic friend Jake. Jake does not know that Rose was the girl who found him after his motorcyle accident. He hates feeling helpless and vulnerable. On the other hand, that was the incident that inspired Rose to become a paramedic.
5/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational
Pages: 274
Cara was raised by her grandparents. After "Pop" dies, she finds documents showing that he was adopted. She goes on a search to track down her blood family members, assisted by attorney Todd. She finds her family, but they are not at all what she expected.
5/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational
Pages: 242
"English" Kristie rents a room on an Amish farm. The very first thing, she gets bit by a dog. Then, in the emergency room, an old man who is having a heart attack gives her a mysterious key. Kristie befriends Mr. Geohagan, breaks up with her boyfriend, and falls in love with Clarke Griffin, a neighbor.
5/3/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational mystery
Pages: 308
An abandoned church on an island off the Maine coast is home to an assortment of unusual characters. Peter is running away from his life, and finds himself there. He is befriended by Jo, a troubled young girl, who is murdered. As the police try to piece together what happened, their questioning has the island residents becoming suspicious of each other. There are Martha and Colin, still mourning the death of her daughter and his wife; Jeremiah, the former pastor, Jules, the ferryman; and Naomi, who waits for Philip, her seldom-seen husband. Then Margot, a fashion designer and Jo's former employer, decides to do some investigating of her own and has her safe life shattered in the process.
4/30/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational romance
Pages: 250
This is laugh-till-your-sides-hurt funny. Combine the very pregnant Lilly, Lucinda, her ornery donkey, her next door neighbor Cort, and Loser, his mutt. She's been raised by three man-hating grannies. He's been burned badly by his ex. But the donkey and the dog are going to make sure they get together!
4/23/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational
Pages: 430
This is the final book in the "Home to Brewster" series and it brings the series full circle, featuring Libby, Olivia from After Anne, the first book in the series. Libby is struggling with getting her book about her friend Anne published. Her daughter Angie has some challenges of her own. And her friend Vicky is in the process of pursuing her own dream of owning a specialty restaurant. This series is audacious in a "fictional autobiographical" way, with the first and last books in the series supposedly penned by the main character. It somehow works for Henke. While I disagree about Brewster being a "typical" small town in North Dakota, the whole concept works and you find yourself caring about each of the characters. I highly recommend the series, with the caveat that the books are extremely preachy.
4/19/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational
Pages: 349
This is #4 in Henke's "Home to Brewster" series. Brewster is a fictional "typical" small North Dakota town populated by stereotypical small town North Dakota characters. This book is about growing older. It features Jan, the "local beauty" who turns 43 and is terrified of losing her looks; Kenny, the gas station/convenience store owner whose longed for baby turns out to have Down's Syndrome; Pete, the reformed teen-age troublemaker, and Ida, the little old German lady. I can understand that Henke is trying to convey the small-town feel, but the characters are so stereotyped that it almost reads like a farce. The story is a good one, rather, the interweaving storylines of each of the characters, except the characters themselves get into the way. Read it anyway--the story is a good one.
4/9/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational
Pages: 333
Sally is a CNA at a nursing home. Elsie Rigsby is her favorite patient. Elsie has squirreled away a lot of money, and several people are determined to find it, sometimes with fatal consequences. Her son Harry and grandson Jon are desperate to find it. Sally and her coworkers Karen and Jon are also determined to find it. When Sally and Karen find the money, Sally's life is turned upside down. A good story, but very preachy, heavy on the theme of trusting God to see us through our financial woes. I liked Sally's work at the nursing home and her interaction with her ex-husband Sam and daughter Leslie.
4/3/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 250
Zoey's DEA agent husband disappeared two years ago when his plane went down. She has mourned, and gotten on with her life. Now Dane has reappeared, and they are trying to start over. It's an interesting concept, to consider the challenges when one's spouse has been presumed dead for years and suddenly reappears and turns the new family dynamic inside out.
3/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 250
When Lauren's fiance dumps her for her best friend and then she loses her job, her friends get together and send her to a bed and breakfast for a vacation. However, she winds up at the wrong B&B, as a contestant in "Win Daddy's Heart," a matchmaking effort by B&B owner Garrett's teenage daughters. Cute.
3/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
Cute!!! Shelby's fiance David is killed three weeks before their wedding, and she finds out she is pregnant. His brother Tucker offers to marry her, and she agrees. Most of the book is about them realistically dealing with the situation. In fact, it is extremely realistic for an inspirational romance, not at all preachy. And there are a few "laugh out loud" moments. How could there not be, when Tucker is the type of guy who owns a "poodle-mutt" named Roadkill? "He's not a dog, he's a poodle!!!" is an ongoing refrain when "Kill" comes into the story. The point is, Tucker is the kind of guy who, even though he detests poodles, would rescue an injured dog and then adopt it because he feels sorry for it because he thinks it's so ugly nobody else would want it. Definitely worth reading!
3/06

Rating: * * * *
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 349
Another excellent short story collection, edited by the esteemed Mercedes Lacky. My favorites... "The Cat Who Came to Dinner," by Nancy Asire. What lengths will a mere Sunpriest go to, to find some fish for the cat who moved into his life? "In the Eye of the Beholder," by Josepha Sherman. What really makes a monster? "Trance Tower Garrison," by Fiona Patton. All the besieged garrison needed was the right inspiration... "Icebreaker," by Rosemary Edghill. Any man who would choose his books over a Companion is my kind of guy! And, my very favorite, "Brock," by Tanya Huff (another of my favorite authors). Brock is a mentally-challenged self-proclaimed Herald... Who "wears his whites on the inside." Over all, I'd say this book is a must-read for fans of Valdemar. Some short story collections end up being disappointing, but not this one!
3/14/06

Rating: * * * *
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 393
Serves me right for bypassing this author as just another "trendy" writer. I could not put this book down! New Orleans is full of ghosts, and Nikki DuMonde leads ghost tours, but she does not believe in ghosts. Then her friend and coworker appears in her room at the time she dies of a drug overdose, and warns her about a "bum" they had encountered earlier in the day, who also turns out to have been murdered. Only, the "bum" is an undercover agent, which the FBI finds much more interesting than the death of yet another relapsed junkie, and they send Brent Blackhawk, a paranormal investigator, to find out what happened. Nikki knows her friend Andy was murdered, and is determined to convince the police of that. Brent agrees, but can find no connection between her and the undercover agent. Together, they delve into a tangle of ghosts and drug dealing. What a combination! But it works.
3/6/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 309
A collection of fantasy stories featuring birds of prey, ranging from mildly amusing to amazing. I especially loved Mercedes Lackey's novella, "Wide Wings." It's worth buying the book for this story about the Princess Honoria and her goshawk Freya, who decide to trade places. It tells a deeper tale of how options that are unacceptable to one person may be very acceptable to another.
3/2/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 250
The second book in "Faith at the Crossroads." Michael Vance is a rancher whose cattle have begun dying mysteriously. Layla Dixon is a free-spirited hippie vet who happens to be passing through. The ever-meddling Fiona Montgomery introduces the two, and Layla agrees to stick around long enough to help out. It doesn't take her very long to discover what happened to the cattle, causing a mysterious somebody to want her killed.
3/1/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 253
The first book in "Faith at the Crossroads," a six-book miniseries about two prominent families battliing a mysterious enemy. Mayor Maxwell Vance has been shot, and nurse Chloe Tanner sees the would-be murderer when he sneaks into the hospital to attempt to finish the job, which makes her also a target. FBI agent Brendan Montgomery, also her daughter Madison's soccer coach, is assigned to protect her and her two children. He takes her troubled teenage son Kyle under his wing during the process. It's a fast-paced read, and I definitely plan to read the others in the series, if only to learn who the "bad guys" are.
2/24/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 252
Lacey's father was an alcoholic who managed to kill himself while he was driving drunk. Her brother-in-law Eric is also an alcoholic. Lacey has vowed to remain single, because she is afraid she has inherited the same poor taste in men as her mother and sister Susan. She works in a women's clothing store and Randy works at the electronics store next door. They hit it off from the start, but once Lacey learns Randy is a recovering alcoholic himself, she is determined to distance herself. Randy, meanwhile, begins to mentor Eric as he attempts to turn his life around. I am glad that this "fluff" romance line is beginning to tackle the tough issues, but too much of this was contrived, especially the ending, where Randy is tempted by alcohol at a wedding. It's clear from the storyline that their particular church does not believe in drinking alcohol at all. It wasn't believable to me that they would serve it at a wedding because some of the bride's family were "not Christians" and drank, especially knowing that some of the guests were recovering alcoholics. It was painfully obvious that the author was merely creating a final obstacle, an excuse for misunderstanding and choosing to trust. It did have its funny parts, though. It was a good story, just poorly written.
2/14/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
Claire Savage, a former Miss Texas, now owns Savage Cycles, a motorcycle shop. Luke Dawson, former rocker Striker Dark, now owns Praise Productions, a Christian production company. Together they work with a group of untrained but talented young musicians calling themselves the Harvest Sons. Having a character with a past completely different from their current life is by no means a new storytelling technique, but what I liked about this story is that Claire's and Luke's pasts affect them in a believable manner, and not always negatively. It's hard to come by realism in romantic fluff, but this author has pulled it off. If the characters are slightly larger than life, it only serves to accent the story. I liked it.
2/13/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Pages: 249
Wynne had a crush on Simon as a teenager. Now he has come back, a very wealthy man. His fiancee and cousin have been murdered, and he is the prime suspect. He and Wynne search for his sunken ship in hopes of figuring out what really did happen to them. Meanwhile, somebody is trying very hard to get rid of both of them before they discover anything. It didn't take me very long to figure out who the real murderer was, but the story was interesting anyway.
2/9/06

Rating: * * 1/2
Genre: Teen Fiction
Pages: 262
Typical angst-ridden '80s teen fiction. Izzy accepts her first date with a senior. He gets drunk and crashes the car into a tree on the way home. He escapes with scratches, and Izzy loses her leg.  It would have been much better had it been much shorter, because the first half is all  about her trying to hide her depression. You barely meet the main characters in the first half of the book, and all you learn is that Izzy's former best friends are uncomfortable around her. Halfway through the book, she is befriended by the quirky Rosamunde, and she is dealing with how each member of her family is dealing with this in a different way, so the pace picks up a bit. I know Voigt is supposed to be a wonderful author, but she could have spent a lot more time on developing the other characters rather than going over and over the stuff stuck in Izzy's head. (Although Izzy's mental picture of a "miniature Izzy" who reacts to situations in exaggerated ways the real Izzy never would is cute.)
2/7/06

Rating: * * * *
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 438
Alberich has established himself as Weaponsmaster and an accomplished spy. He discovers somebody is passing messages, but he can't figure out what they are for. He enlists the help of his friend Myste, and together they work at trying to uncover what plot is being planned. Meanwhile, young Queen Selenay, yearning for love, meets her perfect match in a prince from a neighboring country. Or is he so perfect? A good follow-up to the previous one, but you really need to read Take a Thief after this book to tie up loose ends.
1/26/06

Rating: * * * *
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 431
Alberich was doing well in the Karsite military, or so he thought, till he was ambushed by his own people and rescued by a white "demon horse" from Valdemar. Now he has to find his way as Weaponsmaster in a land that has always been his country's enemy, proving to himself that they are not his enemy, and proving to them that he is not theirs.
1/26/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational
Pages: 292
This one was a little better. Unsure of the path her life is taking, Phoebe returns home to her grandmother's, where she makes a horrible discovery. Her father is not dead. He is very much alive and he murdered her mother. Furthermore, he is being released from prison now after 20 years, and he will want to find her. She finds her great-aunt's diary, then  has an accident and either dreams or is knocked back in time to the first Phoebe's life. As she lives in the first Phoebe's life, she learns things about herself and her own life. It's a bit too pat and depressing for my taste, though.
1/19/06

Rating: * * *
Genre: Inspirational
Pages: 293
What a disappointment after reading the previous book. Vita is "a travel writer who never leaves home." Her one true love jilted her for her prettier sister, and now she doesn't speak to her sister and has little or no contact with her twin niece and nephew. She buys an antique box to hold her computer CDs. She turns on the computer, lightning strikes, and a weird program installs itself and walks her through the lives of the people who have owned the treasure box. That part is interesting. Experiencing their lives causes Vita to rethink her own. If she had simply started fresh, the book would have been much better. Instead, somehow her life itself is changed. Instead of experiencing Vita living her new outlook on life, you get the stuff nightmares are made of, with her "remembering" a life much different than she is currently experiencing. Too weird, even for a SF/fantasy lover such as myself.
1/17/06

Rating: * * * *
Genre: Inspirational
Pages: 287
Wonderful, wonderful story about three generations of strong women. It also offers insight into the world of a stroke victim and the people around her. When Edith has a stroke, her widowed daughter Abby and her teen-age daughter Neal Grace move in to care for her. The change the stroke effects in all three of their lives and how they each handle it is central to the story. Abby finds Charles, a "safe" man to take care of them, although she is attracted to Devin, the street musician with no prospects. Needing to be needed, seventeen-year-old Neal Grace hooks up with an "older" man. And Edith is forced to live a "half-life" as a stroke victim instead of being allowed to die and go to be with her beloved husband. Things come to a head when something happens to Edith that changes everything for her and causes Abby and Neal Grace to rethink their lives as well.

"You're living the kind of life that feeds your soul. ... It's a matter of calling. Of becoming who you were created to be. Of living the life you were destined to live."

I should post that quote where I would see it every day. I needed to read this book. So does everyone.
1/13/06

Rating: * * * *
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 435
What better way to start the new year than with Mercedes Lackey, and not just any Mercedes Lackey, but a Valdemar novel??? This is the story of Skif. Skif has been living under the "care" of his uncle since his mother died. One day while sneaking into a rich man's house in search of food, he meets up with Deek, a pickpocket, who introduces him to Bazie, his patron. Bazie is a disabled man who trains others to do his thieving for him. He trains Skif, and, in return, becomes like a father to him. Then tragedy strikes, and Skif is determined to get revenge. During this process, he meets up with the Herald weaponsmaster, Alberich, and also ends up being Chosen himself to become a Herald. Skif and Alberich team up to break up a slavery ring...and what a team they make!
1/9/06